


Botulinum

by PhantomVista



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Also we worship the loRD, And then he's like "No u", And this ship in this story??? Is so??? Fluffy?? And it makes me big ass soft, And will go from hell and back for him, Because I live for this shit, Because people make Pre-game Oumasai big ass toxic???, But not in the way you first assume, I'm gonna try and make it as sad as possible because your tears bring me l i f e, Kaito has a mega stick up his ass and still insults pregame grape, M/M, No but seriously despite this being pregame oumasai Shuichi truely cares about Kokichi, Not in my house we aren't, Not-toxic relationship, Or at least pregame personalities, Pre-Game Oma Kokichi, Pre-Game Personalities (New Dangan Ronpa V3), Pre-Game Saihara Shuichi, Slight Hurt/Comfort, Swapped Personalities, Then Shuichi sucker punches the fuck outta space man, Torture, We don't do the dirty d e e d, You don't mess with Kokichi or Succi will hunt your sorry little ass down, i have no Beta, prepare for some serious angst y'all, shuichi doesnt give a shit about kaito, succi gets fucking k i d n a p p e d, tooth hurty, we die on this battlefield like real men, we love that - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-08-26 09:12:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16678774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomVista/pseuds/PhantomVista
Summary: It's been a week, yet there hasn't been a murder. Thanks to that blonde headed positivity faucet, everyone agreed not to murder someone no matter the cost. Though, it doesn't hurt to give a sneaky motive when you feed two unsuspecting victims their original personalities before they signed up for this death trap...One was pretty weak but determined and another was an obsessed fanboy who wouldn't mind murdering.Let's see if the positivity girl can try and get one of them to not maim one of their friends.





	1. Kokichi's Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ow that description though

_"We all agree that there is to be no murdering in this killing game no matter what?"  K̴̩͖̜͖̼̣̱͓̞̜͎̰̭̣̥̕͝a͘҉̝̳̼̺͙̖̘̙ȩ̛̠̞͍͇͎͘͞d̴̼͔̞̖̗̘̥͕̣͓̼͘e̶͈̱̥̠̰̯̳̥̙̝̗͘ exclaimed. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. She smiled._

_"Good, even if̨̣̦̺̯̪͎ ̭͍̳ţ̩͍̩̟̲̠h̨͚̬̲e̲̥͉̠̟̝̕r̜͚e҉ ̭̼̘̦̺̯͢i̘̺͔͍̥s̖̫͠ ạ̺͇͙͓ ͈͍͇͓͕͕̝mo̵̳̙t̖̪̯̙͞į̯̲v̢͔̞̲̼͙͇̫e̫̖̫ ̢͓̰̝͉͇̻̞se̙̱̮̩t̮͚̖ ̖̣i̝̟n̲̥͖̠̲͕̯͢ ͏̞̥͚̫̣p̹͇̮͚̙͕̕l̶͔̖ͅa̢̭̭̹͙̞̺c̛̮͕̥̩e̞͍͈̭̝̤,͈̦̦̙͔̪͞ ̪̙̯ͅͅw̼͔̗̰͎e͓̭͇̳̮̤̜ ̟̼̲̜̰͡a͚̕l̴̜͙̼̦̱l̺͙͖ m̠̗̖̤e̷͖e͍͎̙̗̳̬̲t̷͎̯ ̢͕͈̣h̫͕͡e͖̹͙r͇̫͍̙̻͕e̗̭̰̩͙͞ͅ,͖͞ ̲͇̠̭͖̘̹aḻ̳̼r̼̫̦̭̯̭i͉͕g͎̳̥̤̙̼͓h̝t?"_

_E̵̡̧̢̡͍͚̫̼̹̼̥̻̜̣̲̮̮̝̙͔v̷̨̛̘̮̻͚̝̟̫̭̙͚̭̫̰͜͠ͅẹ̴̱̬͖͘͞ŗ̴͏̷̫̤̬͔͔̺͡y̶̴̧̯̙̝̳̺͚̗̳͕̗̥̙̰̠̲͢o̴̜̤͓̻̼̞̲̜̫͙̭̕͟͞͠n̴̶̨͏̰͈̺̟ȩ̧̳̝̘̫̱̙̙̺͈̭̤͉̦͈̟͚̕̕͠ͅ ̧͍̼͔̻̠a̧̢͖͉̬̪̫̠͚͔̯̩͞ļ̻̦̝̗̫̪̹̤̟̜̰͙̗͜l̶̛͙͙͓̜̳̳ ҉̻͉̦̹͚̼̱̲̳̩͈̖̜̯a̴̪͎̪̭͙̪̦̥͓͔̯̬̫͙̹̤̩͘͡g͓̬͈̪̘͔͖̟͍͝r̛͙̝̘̠̖̜̺̣ͅe̢̟̺͔͚͍̩̜̙̱̱̖̜͞ȩ̺͓͖͉͜͜͢d̛̙̘̲͈̱̪͈̝͓̩̹̝̳̳͞ ̙͇̪͓̮̞̣̯̬̰̕͘͡ḁ̡̘̜̙̬̣̞̰̭͈n͇͖͎͉̩̞͇͝͞͝ͅd̵̵̞͓͎̬̺͓͉͖̹͎̟̩̬͈̜͈͙̳̙̕͝ ̵̡̜̹͎̱̥̻̻̣̬̹̝͘͟ͅd̨̢̩̟̺͕̗̖̬͇̙̲̼͖̬̖͙̳͢͠i̵̶͏̛͚̠̬͔͚͚̮͚̥̜̼̹͉͜ṣ̵͈̝̙̲̤͎͡ͅp͢͢҉̴͚̥͍͔̬ͅe̘͓̬͍͞͠r͢͞͏͙̹̖̦̼͔͖͚̫̖s̷̱̰͈͉̫̳̠͚̩͕̰̰e҉̵͈͕̗͍̗͍͈̝̞̘̠̺̘̭͙̞̥͡d̴̡̝͚̠͓̖̯̻͕͟͡ ̴̶̡̡̩͔̭͍͎͓̳̤̦̤̼͙̱̰̹͈͡t̴̨̺͇̰͚̞̳͚̕͜ǫ̨̙͔͇̹̠̰͔̣̜̩͎̹̟̫̼͈̲ͅͅ ̷̢̨̝̲̥̙ţ̛̻̻̺͙̬͢͝h̷͡͏̙̰̤̦̱̭͚ȩ̷̭͉̣̹͇͎̩͉͕̙͔͔͇̭̝i̸̦̲͍̖͈̲̕ṛ̛̟̪̮̱̺̫̠͕̟̺̝͇̣̣̯͞ ̶̸̡̯̰͇̤̫͕̩̣̭͘͡d̷̞̮͇̰̬̙͇̼̠̙̤̮̤̰͙͉͝͞o̡̰͕̤̙͍̱̼̱̹̭͇̳̙̫͚̳̭r̢̨͎̟͎͖̫̦̫͓̝͇͕̠̺̘͇̣̩̕͞͞ͅm̶͏̛̞̻̖̟̘͇̖̭̙̘̰̗͍̳̩͉̤͠ ̛̼̭̞̗͕͚͍̬̯̦̙͎̗͙̤͚͉͘͜r̴̰͓̖̪̪͔͚͈̰̪͜͞o҉̵̡͡͏̩͖̼̯̫ǫ̹̳͖̗̼̖͖͜͠m͜͏͏͉̼͙̠̱̰̫ṣ̵̷̨̧̩̞̫.̨̛̟̳̝̫͚̝̫̫̬̭͟͞.̡̛̜͚̠̦͚̥̲̹̲̞̟͚͔̥̼͘.͏̦̲̲͈̠̮̹̻͙̜̗_

 

.

..

...

..?

?

 _'It's unusually quiet here... but I don't want to get up; the bed's too comfy.'_ The short male curled into a ball and snuggled deeper into the soft sheets.

He instantly got up.

"My bed's never this comfortable. Where-" His eyes glanced around a way better room than where he usually stayed in. This set him into a panic.

_'Oh god oh god where am I-'_

His eyes fell on the whiteboard with 15 student's photos on them, and one of them was-

"Shuichi?"

He picked up the picture and looked at it. He looked- different. Or at least, sort of. Without his usual suit and tie he wore to school, it looks weird to see him anything else. He placed the photo back on the whiteboard. His eyes traveled to different pictures, one of them he physically flinched at and quickly averted his eyes from the headshot.

He opened the door.

 _'I have to find Shuichi- please god let him be alright...'_ He hurridly thought to himself with worry.

His short legs tried to quickly get to the other male's room, checking each nameplate for a similar face that's pixelated. Once he finally discovered the room, he hastily banged on the door, yet trying not to make a lot of noise to draw attention. The door didn't open for a good minute until it opened to a very bed-headed Shuichi Saihara. Once the hazel eyes saw the short male, a large, familiar, unsettling smile morphed on the male's face.

"I assume you're the Kokichi Ouma I know from school?" Shuichi asked with almost a possessive tone. Kokichi smiled a little bit with relief. Good, at least he knows someone in the game.

Shuichi smiled even wider when his thoughts were confirmed. He stepped to the side to allow the smaller male in. Kokichi took the opportunity happily. The door quietly shut behind him, which always made him swell with pride that someone like Shuichi respects that he especially doesn't like sudden loud noises. Kokichi sat gingerly on his friend's(?) bed and physically relaxed, feeling safe now that he's with Shuichi. The other male, in turn, sat next to him, his possessive aura now calmed down.

"You do realize what this means, correct?"

And his aura is flaring back up again. Kokichi smiled sadly at the dark haired male and twiddled with his fingers.

"Yeah... I do," he glances at Shuichi a little, "...How are you feeling? Other than excitement." Shuichi slightly deflated.

"That's the majority of my emotions right now, though," Shuichi sighed, but his smile came back, "I'm obviously excited, however, surprisingly, worried."

Kokichi blinked.

"Well, I'm worried about losing you in this killing game, or worried you'll get hurt," his voice softened, something extremely unusual about Shuichi, "I can't bear the thought of you injuring yourself and becoming at risk of someone taking advantage of you."

Kokichi didn't say anything for a good minute and the two sat in utter silence. It felt... Weird knowing someone genuinely cares him. Yes, Shuichi openly stated it at school, but  _him_ of all people to trust Kokichi to see him in an emotional state showed how much he cared for him. It caused a large feeling of warmth blossom in this chest and it nearly caused him to sob, only allowing a fear tears to drop down.

Kokichi laughed softly.

"Thank you... For letting me see you in an emotional state like that," he looked up at Shuichi, "I've never seen this side of you in the years I've known you, so I guess you can call it refreshing? I don't know."

Shuichi was about to respond when a loud banging was heard from the door. Kokichi almost jumped from his skin and began shaking at one of his... let's call fears. Shuichi immediately began to usher him into the bathroom, trying to calm him down on the way. Once the bathroom door was closed, he made his way over to the door- of course, not forgetting a weapon he could use in defense just in case.

A pretty sharp pencil in hand, since his game-self decided to be a fucking moron and not stash a hoard of weapons in case of self-defense.

_(Or in a case where he decided he would murder-)_

Kokichi, on the other hand, was in the bathroom, huddled as far away from the door as he physically could, body shaking like a leaf. He put as much distance from the door and him with a plunger as a weapon in his hand. 

God, why did he have to be such a fucking wimp who got terrified of simple loud noises? He's so god damn useless. Why did he sign up for this killing game?

Why why why whywhywhywhywhy

When the door opened, Kokichi nearly screamed, " _No!_ " and swung the useless plunger at whoever was in the doorway. The rubber end connected with little damage.

"-ichi? Kokichi?" A soothing, soft voice whispered in his ear, "Kokichi, listen to me. It's just me, Shuichi, you're okay. I told the fucker who decided to be a little shit and scare you to legit piss off and go fuck himself. Okay? You're fine, nobody's here to hurt you."

Kokichi blinked with tears blurring his vision and saw a faded blob of dark colors that he can only confirm is Shuichi. He choked out a sob and dropped the blunger and wrapped his thin arms around Shuichi and began sobbing in his shirt. Shuichi simply petted his hair, trying to sooth the agitated person who's death hugging him underneath him.

A good 20 minutes passed, and another knock came to the door, only softer.

"Shuichi? Are you in there?" A gentle, yet firm voice asked. "Kaito told me you-" She laughed in the middle of the sentence, "-He told me that you said some... Some not-so-nice words and kicked him out."

Her voice got a little concerned at the end.

"Are you alright? This isn't something I can see you doing, and I've known you the longest out of everyone here."

 _'Eh, you only know game me the longest. Not..._ me _'_

"Uh... Yeah I'm fine, please don't worry about me," Shuichi hollered afterward. There wasn't an immediate response, but after a good few seconds, a sigh could be heard.

"... Alright then. But please don't forget to come down and get something to eat. It's like, almost noon and I bet you're starving,"

Shuichi had to bite his tongue so he didn't retort back with a snarky response.

"Gotchya,"

The voice didn't respond, and soft footsteps could be faintly heard afterward. Shuichi glanced back at Kokichi to see wide plum purple eyes staring up at him. That caused a small smile to appear. He ruffled Kokichi's hair.

"God why do you have to be so adorable," he muttered. Kokichi only smiled. He let go of his grip around Shuichi and headed inside the bathroom to clean himself up. Putting a cool washcloth under his eyes, he let them sit to reduce swelling. He also dropped a few eyedrops into his eyes to rid of the red. After about 10 minutes, he looked into the mirror and definitely wouldn't look like he just had a mental breakdown half an hour ago if you didn't look hard enough.

Smiling proudly at himself, Kokichi grabbed Shuichi's hand and dragged him out of the dorm room.

"Shuiichi I'm st _ar_ ving," Kokichi whined, "Why did you have to keep me here until twelve in the after _nooon_.."

However, when the pair got half-way to the cafeteria, they instantly realized how they might look to the other in-game participants. Kokichi let go of Shuichi's hand reluctantly.

"I'm gonna go on ahead, alright? Just in case there are people in there," Kokichi said before the other suggested. Shuichi nodded a little and branched off somewhere near the cafeteria just so it doesn't look awkward with him just... Kinda standing there in the hallway.

Kokichi made his way into the cafeteria. The only people there was a blonde girl with an... interesting amount of bust who's calmly chatting with season 52's winner, Rantaro Amami. Finally, his eyes locked on the guy who made his life a living hell for the majority of his life.

All color drained from his face (the last remaining color, that is) and he tried to distance himself as much as possible from him. Food was already prepared on the table and he carefully grabbed a few items, way too used to the way he ate at home. Now with a surplus of food on the table, overwhelming was understandable. Kokichi glanced down at the amount of food on his plate, which wasn't a lot, and forcibly told himself he wasn't at home and he can have as much as he wanted.

He almost greedily put more of everything on the plate. Soon after, he could feel a pair of eyes staring at him. He tried not to break into a sweat just in case his in-game-self wasn't supposed to get scared easily. He looked up and diagonally from him down the table, he saw the star who hated his guts.

Kaito Fucking Mamota.

His eyes quickly averted its gaze from the bully and began to eat. Thankfully, that was the time Shuichi decided to show up and took a seat in front of him and casually put a decent amount of food on his plate.

"Huh? No snarky remark there, Ouma?" Kaito commented. "Wow, I'm im _pressed._ "

 _'What a surprise... Even in this killing game he still decides to antagonize me,"_ Kokichi thought to himself. The silence only annoyed the other.

"Are you not going to respond to me? Hmm? Are you too scared now?" He could practically hear the smile in the other's voice. Kokichi's eyes looked up at Shuichi and saw he was quickly fuming, yet he was trying his best to not burst out in anger.

If Kaito continued, this is gonna end badly and pretty ugly. Kokichi could tell the blonde girl and Rantaro were listening in now, as they quieted down.

"Has your pea brain finally learned some common sen-"

"If you don't shut your fucking mouth I will permanently sew it shut for you,"

There he goes.

Kokichi glanced up and saw the radiating hate coming off of Shuichi. His hazel eyes burned with such raw anger that he knew if Kaito said the wrong thing it's going to end in blood splatter, witnesses or not. He looked over at Kaito to see him shocked and a hint of fear. Both the blonde girl and Rantaro looked just as shocked as Kaito was.

"What? Why are you siding with the gremlin here? You know just as much of the rest of us that he's a pain in the ass," Kaito exclaimed with confusion. Shuichi stood up and slammed both his hands down in front of Kaito, lowering his face down to the other, his hair shielding the sides of his face so only Kaito can see the expression of rage on Shuichi. This, surprisingly, caused Kaito to lean back and shrink down a little in fear, fueling Shuichi. Kokichi didn't bother to stay and grabbed the rest of his food to eat and left. The room instantly got extremely tense and he didn't want to be in the stressful environment.

No, he'll deal with it later. He just needs time for himself knowing how Shuichi got when he was pushed far enough.

Kokichi reached the dorm rooms and made a beeline to his dorm. Once he entered the room, he slid his back down the door and leaked a few tears. How much has he cried today? God, he doesn't know.

The noon hour ends with pain and pure anger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, another Danganronpa fanfic.  
> (Don't worry the other one is being worked on I promise)  
> Have I informed y'all I'm a slut for pre-game aus. They give me l i f e and I n u t when I see it.  
> (Mastermind protag aus give me the biggest nut mmmm MM! Makoto? Hajime? Shuichi?? Give it to m e e e e)  
> So yeah I loved the idea so much I made a story out of it. Also the title may or may not come into play sometime in the story idk.  
> (But honestly knowing pre-game Shuichi it probably will)  
> Also this probably has OOC in it and I apologize for that asmekrnueiw heck man


	2. Shuichi's Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow finally a story I've made on here has more than one chapter posted 👏  
> Succi gets pretty angry at the end  
> Rip Space Man :(  
> Also Shuichi was a dumb fuck and blew his cover of being a soft detective boi? Lmao Succi you dumb idiot but ily

Silence

Blissful, wonderful, silence.

His narrow eyes opened up to see a gray ceiling. He didn't say anything for a good while. All he did was

stare

at the dull, lifeless, ceiling of his room.

He sat up and noticed this was not his room he resided in at his boring, lifeless, home. Where could he be-?

The male made his way over to the bathroom, noting the few Monokuma figures beside his bed. Even though this isn't his room, it sure as hell tries to be with those figures. Though, whenever he gets out of here he could try and swipe them... Once he got to the bathroom and saw his reflection, a wave of memories hit him that he completely forgot. A smile was brought on his face. How can he forget that he auditioned for a killing game and  _got in?_

Once he left the bathroom, he realized how bland his room is. Usually, people in Danganronpa stylize their rooms unless they're the protagonist-

His heart stopped and an even larger stretched across his face that most people would consider freaky. He was about to laugh in hysterics until a haste knocking came to his attention. His eyes looked at the door with a slight glare, distrusting whoever was behind it. How far is he in the game? Chapter 2? Chapter 5? Or is he still in the prologue?

He scoffed and finally decided to open the door. As he grabbed the knob, he hoped he could fight off whoever decided they want to try and kill somebody who's seen 52 seasons of a killing game.

Well, only if the person outside the door is thirsty for blood, that is. 

Once the door was opened, he looked tiredly down and nearly split his face in half. The only reason why he didn't was just in case this person wasn't who he thought it was. He noticed the Ouma in front of him was pretty skittish, a good indicator it was who he thought it was.

"I assume you're the Kokichi Ouma I know from school?" He asked in a low, and borderline possessive tone. The smaller male in front of him smiled with what he can assume was relief. There it is, his proof.

If he wasn't happy right now he sure was pretty elated now. It's really good to know he knows and likes someone here.

_(He only prays that he won't get hurt or someone will get punished for it)._

Shuichi took a step to the side to allow Kokichi inside the safety of his room because if he stayed just standing in front of his door it could be considered weird and he isn't in the mood to get weird looks just yet- possibly. Once Kokichi was fully in his room, he carefully shut the door, one because he doesn't want a slamming door to cause any unwanted attention, and two because of Kokichi's intense fear-ish of loud and sudden noises. He turned around to see him sitting on his bed and Shuichi smiled a tiny bit because he looked really cute just sitting there with an almost innocent vibe. He finally sat down next to him.

It was quiet for a little bit until the situation hit him back in the head. Shuichi turned that small smile into a larger grin. Without looking a Kokichi, he happily asked, "You do realize what this means, correct?"

He didn't notice the small, sad smile Kokichi gave him.

"Yeah... I do," That caught Shuichi's attention and he looked back at Kokichi, "...How are you feeling? Other than excitement."

Shuichi internally chuckled at the question and the quickly added statement after it. He playfully deflated.

"That's the majority of my emotions right now, though," He sighed, letting go of that playful attitude and let in how he truly felt, "I'm obviously excited, however, surprisingly, worried."

He noticed Kokichi blink in surprise. He continued on, letting out all of his worries to Kokichi.

"Well, I'm worried about losing you in this killing game, or worried you'll get hurt," his voice softened as he went on, something he never really would do out in public, "I can't bear the thought of you injuring yourself and becoming at risk of someone taking advantage of you."

Kokichi didn't respond. Shuichi looked down at him to see a mixture of emotions in him but didn't want to break the silence. Then, Kokichi began to laugh softly, probably unsure of what to say.

"Thank you... For letting me see you in an emotional state like that," he then glanced up at Shuichi, catching his confused eyes, "I've never seen this side of you in the years I've known you, so I guess you can call it refreshing? I don't know."

Shuichi almost blushed but thankfully didn't. Well-

Loud banging rung through his dorm.

_'God damn it,'_

Immediately grabbing Kokichi by the hand, he quickly walked him to the bathroom, whispering calm phrases into his ear like "You're okay," "I'm here," and "Don't worry, I'll protect you,"

Once he got Kokichi to relative safety, Shuichi looked around his in-game self's dorm room, trying to find anything he could try and defend himself just in case. Another banging on the door was easily heard.

Thanks to in-game Shuichi for being a god damn imbecile, he had to grab a pretty sharp pencil on his desk and cautiously made his way to the door. He reluctantly opened the door slowly. In the doorway, he saw someone he wanted dead.  _Very_ dead.

"Damn, Shuichi, what took you so long?" Kaito asked jokingly. Shuichi smothered the thought to shove the pencil into the guy's neck immediately and reluctantly. He smiled.

"A-ah... Sorry about that, Kaito," he muttered, "I was actually just in bed and obviously took me a bit to open the door, haha.."

He might not be the best liar, but knowing Kaito he had the brains of a god damn peanut. Looking at Kaito's face though, it looked like he believed him.

"Oh... Alright. But what's got you getting up at noon, though?"

"I stayed up pretty late and I guess I just crashed. Stress could be another factor but I dunno..." He trailed off at the end. Satisfying a little bit of his anger, he gave a hard, glare at Kaito, surprising the other as he did so. "By the way, I'm not in a good mood so you better get the hell out of my room before I get in a worse mood."

Kaito looked like he got slapped in the face, making Shuichi want to press on, but he restrained himself.

"Geez, alright. I guess I'll go," he muttered with slight confusion.

"Good,"

Shuichi almost slammed the door in Kaito's face but didn't want to risk making Kokichi's little panic attack worse. Breathing in, he quickly made his way over to the bathroom door and slowly opened it.

"Kokich-"

He saw a blur of purple, screaming " _No!_ " and a feeling of rubber against his forehead. Shuichi didn't say anything for a few seconds, forcing himself to not chuckle. He brushed Kokichi's purple hair from his face.

"Kokichi? Kokichi?" He murmured softly, pulling a strand of hair behind the distressed teen, "Kokichi, listen to me. It's just me, Shuichi, you're okay. I told the fucker who decided to be a little shit and scare you to legit piss off and go fuck himself. Okay? You're fine, nobody's here to hurt you."

He saw Kokichi finally look up at him and just saw tear stains down his face. He prays nobody will notice it. Kokichi choked out a sob and dropped the useless plunger beside him, wrapping his fragile arms around Shuichi and buried his face into his chest. Ignoring how Kokichi's death hugging him, Shuichi just began petting his hair and didn't disturb the silence.

After about a good 20 or so minutes, Kokichi calmed down significantly. Then another softer knock was heard.

"Shuichi? Are you in there?" A gentle, yet firm feminine voice asked. "Kaito told me you-" She laughed in the middle of the sentence, "-He told me that you said some... Some not-so-nice words and kicked him out."

Shuichi could tell she was getting a little concerned the more she talked.

"Are you alright? This isn't something I can see you doing, and I've known you the longest out of everyone here."

Shuichi almost rolled his eyes, thinking to himself with annoyance, ' _Eh, you only know game me the longest. Not..._ me _'_

"Uh... Yeah I'm fine, please don't worry about me," Shuichi shouted soon afterward. There wasn't an immediate response, but after a good few seconds, a sigh could be heard from behind the door.

"... Alright then. But please don't forget to come down and get something to eat. It's like, almost noon and I bet you're starving,"

Shuichi had to bite his tongue so he didn't retort back with a snarky response.

"Gotchya,"

The girl's voice didn't respond, but her footsteps did. Looking back at Kokichi he saw the boy's eyes staring up at him. Shuichi smiled and ruffled his hair, chuckling as he muttering, "God why do you have to be so adorable..."

Kokichi only smiled at his question. Let go of Shuichi and went back into the bathroom to clean up his puffy eyes. He grabbed a washcloth and got it damp with cool water then placed it down under his eyes to what Shuichi can assume to reduce the swelling. He then noticed he grabbed some eyedrops from the cabinet and dropped a few onto his eyes as well. He looked... Decent after a breakdown, he supposed.

Shuichi saw the proud smile on Kokichi's face and he wishes he could snap a quick picture of him because he doesn't see that smile that often. Then, surprisingly, Kokichi grabbed his hand and pretty much dragged him out of his own dorm room.

"Shuiichi I'm st _ar_ ving," Kokichi whined, "Why did you have to keep me here until twelve in the after _nooon_.."

Shuichi only laughed at the whining.

Once they got half-way to the cafeteria, they had an "oh" moment. Kokichi sadly let go of the other's hand. Shuichi was about to say something until Kokichi beat him to it.

"I'm gonna go on ahead, alright? Just in case there are people in there," Kokichi suggested. Shuichi nodded and watched the other walk off, only walking away to something nearby when he couldn't see the head of hair bouncing in the distance.

Shuichi quickly made it to the men's restrooms and walked inside. He then went straight to the mirror to see if anything looked weird.

Thankfully, the shirt he wore dried pretty quickly and only one small patch of a wet area remained. He can just play it off that he got something on his shirt when he brushed his teeth or whatever. Shuichi then turned on the sink water so if there's anyone in here or comes in here, he seemed pretty normal. When he was about to dry off, however, he saw the folklore weirdo come inside the restroom. Shuichi's eyes glanced quickly at him to see the outfit he wore and chuckling internally to himself, he thought it fit well with him. Annoyingly, the folklore weirdo caught him looking.

"Well hello there, Shuichi," Korekiyo said in his creepy voice, "It's nice to finally see you awake and well..."

Shuichi dried off his hands and saw the other just staring at him as if he was... analyzing him? He couldn't tell. Not that he cared one bit. Shuichi slapped on a fake smile and waved his hand slightly.

"Oh hi, Kiyo... Yeah, I kinda slept in so... Stayed up last night as well, so I was pretty tired, but I was on my way to the cafeteria to get lunch, so I can't really talk," Shuichi said quickly as he made his way out of the bathroom. Relaxing a little, he calmly made his way out of the restroom and towards the cafeteria. As he walked in the large room, he noticed Kaito looking at Kokichi and he wanted to  _rip_ off that head of his, but reluctantly smothered the thought and kept it away.

_(But we both know that the thought won't be smothered for long)_

He casually sat down across from Kokichi, putting as much food as he wanted down (which wasn't much, but still decently large).

"Huh? No snarky remark there, Ouma?" Kaito commented. "Wow, I'm im _pressed._ "

Shuichi gripped his fork a little harder, stabbing the food and imagined them as Kaito's face.

"Are you not going to respond to me? Hmm? Are you too scared now?"

He could hear the smile in the pea-brain's voice. Shuichi noticed the girl- Kaede wasn't it?- and the 52 season winner, Rantaro, quieted down their conversation, listening to Kaito antagonize Kokichi.

"Has your pea brain finally learned some common sen-"

He's had god damn enough.

"If you don't shut your fucking mouth I will permanently sew it shut for you," Shuichi interrupted in a low voice.

He doesn't care if there are two people in this room. He _doesn't care_ if there could be more people coming. He does not fucking care if he gets immediately called out and executed in a class trial if it means killing the son-of-a-bitch who will still harm Kokichi in this game. And once he saw the shock and hint of fear it egged him on.

"What? Why are you siding with the gremlin here? You know just as much of the rest of us that he's a pain in the ass," Kaito said with confusion. 

_Get up and walk over. Prove to him that if he_

_ever_

_touches Kokichi that he will hunt down and spill his guts and-_

He slammed his hands on the table in front of Kaito and lowered his head down to him, causing the sides of his hair to block off the pure and utter hatred in his face from the others. This had caused the reaction he wanted, needed almost. He saw fear in Kaito as he shrunk away.

"Pay attention and listen clearly you dumb fuck," Shuichi whispered so only Kaito could hear with a hiss, his voice almost wavering in anger, "I don't care if Kokichi has said the most offensive word in the dictionary to you, but if you ever think about verbally abusing him or harming him in any way I will personally find you and I will  _maim_ you. I will make you wish you could be killed right then and there because it hurts  _so much_. But you know what?"

He grabbed Kaito's face, making sure his nails dug deep into Kaito's skin. A smile curled on his face.

_So goes for his cover._

"I will keep you alive. Let you sit in your own pool of blood in agonizing pain. For hours," Shuichi's voice cheered up, "How does that sound?"

Kaito was, for the most part, shaking. He would be surprised if he didn't piss himself. He let go and stood up regularly so everyone could hear him.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Kokichi to check on," Shuichi smiled just like nothing had ever happened and that he and Kaito were buddies, "Toodles, you guys!"

He left the cafeteria and a nasty frown appeared on his face as he walked towards the dormitories.

The clock struck 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I love this story oops  
> Also, I edited the previous chapter a tiny bit, but they aren't that too big of a deal other than "Shuichi calling Kaito a few colorful names" to "Shuichi saying a few colorful things" k  
> I also realized a plothole of nobody noticing Kokichi's obvious crying session lmao?? I'm fixed it tho, don't worry y'all  
> (So if y'all confused in this chapter it's because my dumbass realized my mistakes and you should probably re-read a tiny bit of the last chapter after Kokichi sobs into Succi's shirt and Succi comforts the fuck outta him bc he's a good mans to Kokichi. I mean it's just him trying to reduce the swelling in his eyes plus removing the redness so it's less noticeable too so if you aren't up to that you're good.)  
> Also if any of y'all have read "The Girl From the Well" by Rin Chupeco, you can maybe tell I used a little bit of her writing style in here because I liked it when I read "The Girl From the Well".


	3. Promises and Pillow Forts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you have a moment you're listening to a song and you wanna do something with it because of your artistic ass but like you have no ideas of what the hell to do.  
> Because that's me with Coup d'État by GHOST. Also I want Adres to step on my face bye.

Kokichi was about to close his eyes and take a nap because of how tired he was until he heard a soft knock behind him. If he were more awake, he probably would've jumped because of it being so sudden, but he isn't. He slowly got up and opened the door. Shuichi was the one who was behind it.

Kokichi smiled.

"Gonna be honest here, but, uh," Shuichi began, "You look like shit."

Kokichi chuckled and responded sarcastically, "Wow, thanks for the helpful information, Shuichi."

Shuichi's response was only a grin. He made his way in, knowing that the other didn't mind. Kokichi quickly shut the door and made his way to the bed through the kinda-cluttered mess of his room.

"Your in-game self is kind of a slob, to be honest," Shuichi commented.

"Yeah, I know,"

Suddenly, a slender arm wrapped around Kokichi's waist and nudged him, asking him to come closer to the owner. Kokichi did as it asked and rested his head on Shuichi's shoulder.

"Sooo," Shuichi began, "I've mainly come here to apologize for what I, uh, kinda did in the cafeteria. I was in the moment and??? I hate how even in here he's still a little bitch to you."

Kokichi could tell he wasn't great at apologies. He accepted anyways.

"No, you're good... Honestly, if this situation was flipped, I would probably do the same thing but not as... violent."

Shuichi didn't respond for a good few seconds.

"But the other reason why I came here was to just check up on you since I know you don't like being around me when I get like that. Maybe do something to get both of our minds off of what's outside that door-" he pointed at said door separating the two occupants from everybody and stress, "-and just have some fun before the killing begins."

Kokichi smiled and pointed at Shuichi's face as if to lecture him.

"You better not murder someone, Shuichi, even though you want to kill off a certain someone. Just know that I'm still here and I won't, A, assist in murder and, B, want to see you get executed. Because it doesn't matter if everyone is a total dumbass, there will be someone who will point you out-"

Kokichi softened his voice at the end only to guilt trip Shuichi.

"-And they'll be right."

Shuichi only sighed after a little bit. He laughs a little.

"You really know how to guilt trip me, don't you," Shuichi ran his fingers through his hair, "Well, I can't promise you, you know that. But I'll try my best not to."

He laughed again as if he thought of something amusing. "But you know if Kaito stick-up-his-ass Mamota harms you I'll whoop his ass."

Kokichi smiled at the comment.

"Yeah, I know,"

The room fell into silence again.

* * *

 

"Damn, Shuichi said that to you? Straight at your face?" Miu said with slight shock. Kaito looked over and nodded.

"I was surprised when he told me to leave when I went to check up on him and then I was really surprised and borderline terrified when he did what he did not too long ago." 

"I did sense an... ominous aura around Shuichi when I ran into him this morning in the restroom. He said that he slept in due to staying up late..." Korekiyo added. 

Kaede sat in silence when Kaito was telling everyone what happened in the cafeteria, agreeing with what he said to further prove his point alongside Rantaro. She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. Why would someone like Shuichi act like this? It doesn't make any sense-

"Hey Kaede, what's got you thinking like that?" Rantaro asked once everyone quieted down a little. Kaede jumped at the sudden question and turned her head to look straight at him, her eyes wide with surprise. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Her lips closed and curled in and she ruffled her eyebrows together, obviously trying to think hard about this.

"It's just..." Kaede stopped herself momentarily but continued shortly after, "I can't see Shuichi ever doing this. Seriously, I might've known him since like, last week and that's not enough time to truly get to know someone, but I've hung around him the most, give or take a few times. And it's just... With those experiences, there's no way I can see him threaten Kaito like that."

"You do realize all of that shyness could easily be an act," a low feminine voice interjected, "Correct?"

Kaede looked over to the voice, "But, Maki-"

The girl, Maki, stared into space while playing with a long hair strand in between her fingers as she continued.

"This is a killing game, is it not? Now I may be the Ultimate Child Caregiver, but I do have some common sense." Her blood red eyes looked back at Kaede, "Now all I'm going to say to you is that you don't fall for the same mistake you did with Shuichi because any one of us could be hiding a facade right under everyone's noses and not be who we think they are."

And with that, she quieted down and went back to eating.

Nobody seemed too interested to socialize after that.

* * *

 

 

"Are you being serious?" Shuichi said with disbelief, "A  _pillow fort_ of all things to do?"

"I'm being completely serious," Kokichi said simply as he began grabbing pillows off his bed, "I wouldn't lie to you, now would I?"

Shuichi exhaled and put his hand to his forehead. He didn't respond to Kokichi's comment.

"You do also realize four pillows is not nearly enough for an actual pillow fort-"

"Shhh," Kokichi interrupted, placing the four pillows down in a pile, "That's why you get pillows from your own dorm, you dingus."

Kokichi pushed a few stuff away, and also grabbed the blanket off as well.

"Could you also grab your blanket as well? Just so we're, uh, comfortable laying on the bed..."

Shuichi hummed a little.

"Sure,"

He made his way out of the dorm room and quickly made his way to his own, leaving the door open so he didn't have to wait outside. God, why does his dorm have to be on the opposite end of the dormitory? If they were right next to each other it would've been soo convenient. But  _no_. He prays he won't be seen by anyone because he's not in the mood to talk to literally anyone other than Kokichi right now.

Shuichi opened the door and quickly grabbed the four pillows, two under both armpits, and wrapped the blanket around him. If anyone saw him, they'd probably think he's going to some slumber party in some way. Or to sleep somewhere other than his dorm, whatever.

The pillows under his armpits started to slip from his grasp, so he quickened his pace and made it into the room when everything fell from his grasp.

Kokichi was leaning over his bed, starting to prepare the pillow fort when he saw Shuichi literally just  _drop_ everything in his arms, well except for the blanket. He simply blinked.

"Don't look at me like that, I got you the damn pillows for the pillow fort,"

Kokichi snorted and made his way over to Shuichi and grabbed the four dropped pillows and finished up the fort. Thanks to the wall beside the bed, he used a couple of pillows for support there along with the two chairs in his room to keep the blanket over it up. He's never really made a pillow fort before but... this'll have to do.

"I know it's not the most... prettiest or perfect pillow fort in the world, but it's the best I can do," Kokichi said with a slight lack of confidence.

"Now don't say that. Everything you make doesn't have to be perfect or the prettiest, it's the thought and effort you put into it," Shuichi commented, "Yes, it doesn't look perfect, but does it really have to? It looks amazing the way it is because it was made by you."

Shuichi climbed into the decent-looking pillow fort, grabbing the two remaining pillows off the floor and the blanket, motioning Kokichi to follow him. Kokichi did so and grabbed a pillow from Shuichi and placed it in front of him. He noticed Shuichi finally tossed the blanket over both himself and Kokichi, but more was on Kokichi's side then Shuichi's. Kokichi looked at him with confusion.

"I get really hot under a blanket when I try to relax so I'm just giving you the most of it since I know you like to... cocoon yourself in them,"

Kokichi laughed at the comment.

"Thanks," he replied sarcastically. He crossed his arms then laid them down onto the pillow. He needed some rest after all- today being kind of stressful and since he ate more than he usually did at home- scratch that, more than he could eat at home. That left him unusually tired, so with that, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

.

.

Shuichi waited for about a half hour to pass, just to be safe. Throughout the time he simply watches Kokichi try and fall asleep. Creepy, yes, but seeing his face finally relax and his body curling into the fetal position while he slept was like a small blessing to him. Brushing Kokichi's bangs back and searching his body for his key card (thankfully finding it), Shuichi then slid out of the bed as quietly as possible. He softly made his way out of the room, gently closing the door behind him. Now time to find another thing that he's been looking for.

Quietly, he muttered, "Sorry Kokichi, I just want to have something just in case..."

Leaving the dormitory, Shuichi made his way back to the academy. While walking, he began pondering where the item could be. The kitchen? Probably not. A biology classroom? Maybe. Were there even any biology classrooms here though? His legs carried him multiple places in the academy, or as far as he could with places blocked off.

Shuichi opened the final door of a classroom, surprised at this point he hadn't been noticed. Not that he cared, really. The less noticed he became the better. He peeked into the classroom, praying it was a biology classroom. It wasn't. He swore under his breath and closed the door, getting slightly surprised to a sound of soft laughter in the distance. Shuichi turned his head to the source of the noise to see a small black and white bear coming towards him.

"Upupupu... Having a little trouble, Shuichi?" Monokuma asked with his small paws to his mouth. Shuichi tried not to smile-

But he did anyway.

"Hello... Do you think you could help me find something  _real_ quick?"

Monokuma tilted his head questioningly.

"Why should I help you? You're just a participant in this killing game," Monokuma chuckled right afterward, "Unless... You're planning a murder?"

Shuichi felt a tang of guilt stab at his heart, but it was only precautionary.

"I don't plan to do it immediately, I just want it for future reference," Shuichi lowered his voice, "Just in case."

"Well, poop... It would've been more fun if you did it right now," Monokuma whined, "This killing game is dragging on! We're quickly losing viewers by each episode!"

Shuichi chuckled.

"Well, you better pray that a certain somebody gives me a reason to murder them,"

Shuichi then leaned down and whispered something in the bear's ear. Monokuma laughed at this and nodded slightly.

"Regular participants would never be able to do this, but since there could be very interesting and creative results because of it... I'll only allow this one time." Monokuma laughed.

Shuichi nodded eagerly.

"Follow me; this'll be a walk."

And it was. After a long and trudging walk to the place that holds this toxin, they made it.

Shuichi opened the door to his in-game's research lab. The Ultimate Detective's research lab.

"Inside here you'll find maaany different poisons, and I know for a fact the poison you're looking for is in here," Monokuma shrugged, "And if not, you can always make it."

Shuichi nodded a little bit and immediately went off to find the toxin he was so desperately wanting to find. Hands quickly looking through the cabinet, he finally found it. Fingers wrapped the clear bottle of "Botulinum Toxin Type A".

The deadliest known toxin that's known to mankind.

Well, a form of the deadliest toxin known, since type H isn't in the cabinets surprisenly.

Shuichi's smile turned Cheshire and  _so_ many ideas danced around in his mind. But as he sorta-promised to Kokichi, he stuffed it in his pocket and didn't plan to use it.

Well, not yet, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A A A sorry y'all I got this out later than the last chapter, I had exams to prepare for as well as a t h i c c drawing I'm still really proud of for a custom shirt I got in on the 20th. I hope this chapter makes up for it.  
> Also, I know the pov's are kinda mixed and you're not too sure who's the "narrator". I might have it when Kokichi and Shuichi are in the same room together it'll be a mixed pov and the person with the most action will have the primary pov.  
> I might make small "filler" chapters for backstories so y'all get some background info of these two children.  
> Succi gives a life lesson to Kokichi that goes to all creative people out there. Ily all so muchhh  
> Y'all I spent so much time searching and kinda researching up facts about botulinum please send help. I probably don't know all of its effects, but I know for sure that Shuichi is gonna have a fun time when he uses it ;)
> 
> Can we also just appreciate how fucking long the chemical formula is for botulinum. Like look at this >> C6760H10447N1743O2010S32  
> I'm just scared looking at how many fuckin hydrogens are in this bitch like my god. This probably isn't even the biggest chemical formula too lmaO


	4. High Expectations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we get a drumroll pleeeaseee  
> *aggressively beats the drums*
> 
> yess it's time for pregame Kokichi's backstory pt one. I plan to make these short because they aren't part of the plot, so there isn't any reason to make them as long as a regular chapter. But I'm writing them so you can get a general understanding of these two ig.

The tip of his pencil aimlessly made tick marks on the piece of homework he brought home for social studies. He was pretty exhausted after cleaning up after school (to which he cleaned a lot more than his classmates since they were too lazy to do it today) and he wasn't really in the mood to learn about how the Americans bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima during WWII.

Closing his textbook with his homework in between the pages he needed to finish the worksheet, Kokichi sighed and leaned back on his bed. He stared at the slightly cracked ceiling of his bedroom, relishing the silence. At least for now. His phone sat on his table with a lot of books piled on it, most nearly falling apart, so he wouldn't get distracted from his homework he  _thought_ he would be able to do, but apparently not. He grunted and laid his arm over his eyes, desperate for sleep but couldn't risk such a simple task. 

And then his phone buzzed.

Kokichi sat up almost immediately.

Quickly making his way over to the slim device, he unlocked it and saw a text message from his father. His stomach dropped.

_(18:25): Your mother and I will be home in less than ten minutes. You better be working on something._

Oh, he would be if he had any motivation, but he wasn't in the mood for a shitty evening, so he quickly replied and immediately jumped on his bed. He opened the textbook once again and began the homework he probably should've been doing this whole time.

Tapping his pencil to his chin, Kokichi's mind wandered off to topics that were definitely not about WWII. Like... How life would've been if he didn't live here and instead with someone else. His eyes looked at his ceiling again. He didn't care if the house was a mess- okay maybe he a did a little bit, but that's not the point here. Kokichi looked back at the worksheet and he sighed.

"Might as well actually start this stupid homework," he muttered to himself. Just as he was about to flip to the page he needed, his door slammed open to reveal his father. Kokichi whipped his head around to see a pissed off face on his father, and his stomach dropped all the way down to Earth's core. His dry mouth opened slightly to try and form a response to his father that he was, in fact, working on his work from school, but his father beat him to it.

"What are you doing?"

"I-I'm working on my work for school, I was j-just taking a quick breather from it,"

His father clicked his tongue and leaned on the doorframe, crossing his arms.

"But it sure looks like you were  _just_ about to do your homework," His voice went from angry to disbelief in a second, "Like you decided to start your homework when I said you should be working on it."

His father walked over to him, and Kokichi scooted back from him, tears on the verge to pour down from his eyes. The man stopped at the edge of the bed and looked at the textbook.

"Did you even begin writing anything on your homework?"

Kokichi wanted to lie and say yes, he began it during class but they get it at the end of class and he couldn't work on it. Even if he did say yes, his father could easily just open the textbook and only see the words "Ouma Kokichi" on the worksheet plus a few tick marks on the sheet of paper.

A few tears dribbled down his face and he averted his eyes from the adult in front of him. His father scoffed and opened the textbook and saw what Kokichi just mentally described in his head.

"Damnit, Kokichi, you won't ever fucking get a good job you keep procrastinating at your work. At this point, you'll be lucky to find a job at the office," His father grabbed Kokichi's upper arm and squeezed it tightly. "What happens when doctors procrastinate at their job? People  _die_ , Kokichi. Do you want that to happen when you find a job in the medical field? What about college, hm? Some places fail you automatically if you turn in late work."

'I get it I get it I get i _t-_ '

Tears fell down Kokichi's face a lot faster as his father kept reminding him how fucking useless he will be in the future. The pressure on his arm finally disappeared.

"Now finish the damn homework about World War 2." His father began to walk out of the room, not forgetting to mutter, "This should be easy to you by now, idiot."

Kokichi was left alone to his own thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw backstory chapters will have a regular, on the storyline, chapter posted right afterward


	5. All Things Come to Those Who Wait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the moment y'all been waiting for ;)
> 
> Headcanon my pregame Shuichi can whip up some actually decent food but is mostly too lazy to actually cook a full-out meal so he makes some bomb ass ramen instead
> 
> Please tell me if you think someone's being ooc, because that's probably a huge fear of mine alkdsjko  
> Also, I feel like I'm putting too much fluff in this story hhh i know in the tags it said it was superr fluffy but idk man : (
> 
> Also also I would lovee some criticism since I don't get a lot of it and I feel like I need some a a

Kokichi woke up to an empty spot next to him. This set him into a slight panic and he sat up quickly, scraping the side of his head with the back of the chair helping hold everything up. He hissed a colorful word under his breath and rubbed the side of his head where it stung a little. Carefully making his way out of his bed, he looked around to see Shuichi sitting on the floor, reading something... Probably a mystery novel.

(He only got into the genre because of Kirigiri and other Ultimate Detectives).

Shuichi's head looked up from the novel and smiled at him.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty. You seem well rested,"

"Mhm sure," Kokichi muttered, "Why and when did you get out of bed?"

Closing the novel, Shuichi leaned back to whatever was closest to, which was the tiered shelf.

"Mm... A bit ago. I wanted to get something real quick and I picked up this book on the way back since I knew you took long naps," Shuichi replied nonchalantly.

Kokichi looked puzzled. He walked over to the other and sat down in front of him. What could be more important than just laying in bed with him? I mean... He can't force Shuichi to stay with him 24/7, but he felt kinda... offended? No, probably just saddened that Shuichi could just leave while Kokichi was sleeping to grab something. These thoughts put him instantly in a glum mood, feeling possessive and just an asshole in general.

He felt cold, slim fingers cup the sides of his face.

"Hey, what's got you down?" Shuichi asked softly. Kokichi looked at him and didn't say anything for a second.

"... My thoughts and questions are just being little shits and making me feel bad that I'm kinda offended that you just left while I was sleeping," He ducked his face in shame, "A-and how you thought to get something was more important than... me."

Shuichi chuckled a little and pulled his hands away from Kokichi's face.

"Kokichi I may have some important things, but there can't be anything more important to me than you,"

A small smile formed on Kokichi's face but didn't say much else. Maybe he's being dramatic, but who knows.

"Okay so we've been in your dorm for a while, and I want to take this book to my room, so we might as well go out and deal with the idiots," Shuichi concluded.

"Yeah, I think that's fine,"

Shuichi grabbed the two of the four pillows that he knew were his and the blanket back to his dorm (putting the book between the pillow sheets to make life easier). Kokichi took the other two to help out because last time was a near train-wreck. After finishing that, the two decided to head to the cafeteria again, since Shuichi mentioned how he was starting to get hungry. Kokichi denied needing some food, but Shuichi mentioned he needed to get something to eat since he's a near-skeleton.

("Come on, by now your twin could easily be an IKEA skeleton,"

"You know what? You should actually shut the fuck up,")

Shuichi decided to head in first, just in case this morning's troublemaker was in there, but luckily he wasn't. Kokichi quickly followed inside and sat down, letting Shuichi cook an actually great tasting cup of ramen for him, (since he was being a stubborn ass) somehow some way, and he himself made some gyudon.

"I didn't know you could actually cook, Shuichi," Kokichi commented with slight surprise. Shuichi stabbed a piece of beef and looked up at him.

"What? Did you think since I absolutely adore and love Danganronpa and spent nearly almost every waking moment with it that I would be a shitty cook?" He responded with mock offense.

"No, I mean-" Kokichi grumbled and put another noodle in his mouth, "Well, kinda yeah."

Shuichi snorted a little bit, placing the beef into his mouth, muttering, "You little shit..."

What they didn't know is that a certain twin-tailed hair girl was passing by the cafeteria as the two started chatting away. How convenient.

Stopping in her tracks, Maki placed her head gently against the door and listened to the conversation. She needed to know any other information about the two without directly having to ask them what was up.

When she heard Shuichi's comment about this thing about Danganronpa(?) she immediately got confused, but only decided to stay because of information she can give to the others. As she stood there, there wasn't much else other than the occasional laugh from each other. Maki pondered for a bit. It seems this Shuichi really enjoys and likes Kokichi and his company. However, what she said was true about the facade thing. Her herself is wearing a facade, a very weak one, but one none-the-less.

This Shuichi could easily be luring Kokichi into... something. Now she didn't give a rat's ass about Kokichi; she's just more concerned about Shuichi's behavior than the little gremlin. It really concerned her... The way Kaito described what Shuichi said to him, it seems if truly provoked, he will kill.

And do what they all promised not to do.

Once she heard chairs scrape against the floor, Maki quickly left the area, deciding to keep the information she just received until tomorrow since it's getting pretty late.

* * *

 

Shuichi smiled and waved at Kokichi before Kokichi closed the door on him. He stood by the door for a few seconds, just contemplating to himself. The toxin was still in his room, stashed away in his room into a corner on the bottom shelf behind a Monokuma figurine. He wished he had more so the cover would be better but... since it's still the prologue or the first chapter there isn't a lot. Shuichi sighed and decided to move away from Kokichi's door so if anyone saw him they wouldn't be wondering why the hell he's just standing in front of a door.

He turned around, deciding it was time to head back to his dorm. As Shuichi was about to open his door, he heard someone's voice call out to him. 

_'I swear to god if it's the fucker-'_

"Hey, Shuichi! Can we, uh, chat for a little bit?"

_'God fucking-'_

Shuichi glanced back and saw Kaito coming from out of his dorm. He quickly walked down the steps and stood behind him before he could think to simply leave and enter his dorm to avoid the idiot. Shuichi reluctantly turned around, holding back a frown and holding a more annoyed expression with lowered lids and raised eyebrows. He crossed his arms and waited for Kaito to continue.

"Uh, well..." Kaito put a hand behind his head, an awkward smile forming on his lips, "Can I seriously ask you why you defended Kokichi earlier? Now that we have cleared heads and all..."

This question again. Shuichi sighed.

"Why do you want to know? I just thought that you continuously pounding him with offensive shit was a douche move," he finally answered.

"But why like the way you reacted this morning? I've never even considered you to be the violent type, especially if it was to help Kokichi!"

_'Are we seriously going to have a repeat of this morning in the dormitory?'_

Shuichi looked straight up into Kaito's eyes with an obvious warning glint in them.

"Do you not remember this morning? I told you I wasn't in the best mood, and what you said to Kokichi during breakfast didn't help in the slightest," he said with a low voice, trying to stay as calm as he can be so he doesn't wake up anyone, "Now I suggest you shut the fuck up before I do something I probably won't regret."

Shuichi turned away, wanting to head to bed.

"Shuichi, please I'm just wanting to know why you acted the way you did just in case Monokuma did something to you on purpose." Kaito grabbed Shuichi's arm, desperate to talk things through, "Because even if I've only known you for a short period of time, I've come to know you to be a quiet and shy individual, but now you're a completely different person. No one just switches personalities like that overnight."

"Kaito, get your damn hand off of me," Shuichi hissed, anger flaring violently, "Why aren't you getting it through your thick skull?? You said some things to Kokichi that was  _very fucking_ uncalled for and it pissed me off."

Shuichi could tell Kaito was getting a little hesitant, but the damn idiot was persistent.

"Shuichi- just calm down-" he stopped for a moment to try and collect his thoughts, "Before today, you didn't really socialize with him and looked like you would get annoyed with him. What caused you to like the gremlin so muc-"

A loud smacking noise and maybe even a small crack sounded in the dormitory. A thump followed soon after. 

Shuichi's mouth could easily be described as a snarl as he stood a little over Kaito. He shook out his right slightly-bloody fist. He muttered a few choice words in the process. Kaito, meanwhile, covered his nose that was bleeding profusely. His left eye wasn't left untouched and began squinting and watering in pain. Left in shock, he didn't say anything for a moment.

Shuichi stepped on Kaito's stomach and lowered his torso down so his face could be closer to Kaito's.

"I told you to shut your fucking mouth, you didn't listen." Shuichi curled his fingers in fists and put them on his hips and gave a sarcastic smile, "And look where we are."

Kaito didn't respond.

"Now go away. I want to go to bed,"

Shuichi turned around and swiftly walked into his room, leaving Kaito to lay out in the dormitory.

* * *

He poured some of the toxin into a glass of milk to hide the crushed, white powdery substance in it. Talk about hiding out in the open. He debated whether or not that he was taking things too far or too quick...

.

.

.

He poured the milk into the sink, deciding that he was taking things too quickly. If he did ever get caught, he wouldn't have a good enough reason to do this to the man. Now he may be crazed enough to think of the things he wanted to do oh-so-badly, but he wanted to wait... And wait for a good reason to do so.

He quickly crushed up the piece of paper and decided he would burn it later.

"All things come to those who wait," Shuichi said to himself as he climbed into bed, "And I sure can wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all how would you feel if I put this story in a series and once I finish up this actual story I do little side, prolly shorter, stories that deal with either one of them being influenced by their pregame memories at certain chapters (like I could write Chapter 5 where Shuichi gets his pregame memories back and sees the death of Kokichi. Or like give memories to Kokoichi after chapter 4 to see everyone hate him who knows.)  
> Or it could be both once again at the same time idk
> 
> I hope I satisfied y'all with Succi punching and breaking Kaito's nose-
> 
> Also that IKEA skeleton part is an inside joke with my biology class to our teacher. We also make fun of her Prius :)  
> It's lit
> 
> I was about to have Shuichi put the botulinum in the milk and carry out his plan, but I felt like I was rushing it so I made him think he was taking things way too fast so yeet
> 
> But lowkey I might take a good hot second break of this book so I don't get burnt out even though it's only 5 chapters in : ')


	6. What If I...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owo? what's dis?
> 
> it's ya boy Succi's time for a backstory chapter
> 
> i have a canvas and i don't know what to draw and paint on it

He shut off his computer after finally realizing the time was 3:23 in the morning. He noticed his eyes stung after the only light source in his room turned off, but at this point it was normal.

He was tired, but he didn't want to go to bed. He had more productive things to do like trying to figure out the mastermind for season 52 before anyone else did because  _that's just what he did_. He would always try and figure out the mastermind before everyone else did in the game. He would go on forums discussing theories of the mastermind, adding his thoughts into the bowl. Usually, his thoughts were either extremely close or dead-on accurate. 

He had a cork board with every character's in season 52 portrait on it. He changed it out every season just for the reason to figure out the mysteries in them. Who would be the mastermind? Who would be killed? Who would die?

He usually got the murderers and victims wrong, but that's fine. He wanted to figure out the masterminds the most, anyways.

This season he has a strong sense the Ultimate Honors Society Member because of his random outbursts of possessiveness, unusual behavior, intelligence, and tendencies to avoid everyone. He sighed with disappointment. Seriously if you wanted to be the mastermind just be better at hiding...

How would he have been as a mastermind...? A long smile as waves of thoughts and ideas poured into his mind. An ultimate detective as the mastermind? Haven't heard of her in more than a decade of seasons.

A soft cackle escaped his lips as he delved deeper into the concept. Where would he host it? A hotel? A campsite? What would the plot be? The characters? The talents? Oh, the ideas...

A soft noise brought him from his thoughts. He looked around his dim room to immediately see his phone light up. Squinting to the intense light, he saw one new notification in the mix of many others. 

_(3:37) Kokichi Ouma: Hey... So I've had a shitty day, thanks to school, wanna chat? ...Even though it's 3 in the morning soo..._

He quickly unlocked his phone and hastily replied, all thoughts of Danganronpa disappearing from his mind.

_(3:38) You: of course. i don't give a shit if it's 3 in the morning._

He stopped for a moment then quickly typed another message.

_(3:38) You: though what at school caused you to have a shitty day?_

...

..

He stared at the screen for a bit, just waiting for a reply. What happened yesterday at school? Does he need to teach Momota a lesson again?

_(3:40) Kokichi Ouma: Ehhhhh... Tbh history. Sensei gave us homework but I was too exhausted to do any of it since I had to do pretty much all of the cleaning. I dunno. Though tbh it could've been worse._

True.

He was about to type a reply until he saw the three dots pop up randomly.

...

_(3:41) Kokichi Ouma: Fuckm sory Suhichi I gotta go,mom or dads comign-_

**Kokichi Ouma has gone offline.**

That set Shuichi in a panic since he had a basic understanding of how his parent's worked, but felt pained when he realized he couldn't do anything.

"Fuck you Koharu and Haruki Ouma and your shitty parenting," Shuichi muttered to him self.

Welp, so much for getting sleep tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to give some ideas for this story hit me up on discord! Brûler la fleur#0693  
> Idk I thought "Burn the flower" in french was cute lmao


	7. Your Flattery Is Going to Kill Me One Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I had a paypal because there's so much Danganronpa shit I wanna buy but I dont wanna ask my parents to pay for them hhhh
> 
> yA HOE'S BACK for like a short amount of time because i have a DR thing with cockichi and nagayto for the talent show that's gonna take a hot minute and winter guard comps practically every weekend oops
> 
> Also what a time jump lmao it's just that I felt that there wasn't much to do in Chapter 1 in v3 until the murder (Well I haven't watched a playthrough since August) so have this ;)
> 
> Succi gets a lil depresso expresso rip him
> 
> fun fact of the day succi flatters and says nice things to kokichi bc he wants to bring up his self-confidence and to help his damaged mental heath from his parents (you'll see more of that obviously in his backstory chapters) because he's a good man in this fic
> 
> what a chad
> 
> i also realized how dark this bitch is gonna get so you know what that means ;)

Kokichi stared at Rantaro's dead body in shock. He knew he was in a killing game for god's sake but...

His mind just went blank and he didn't know what to do or say. Everything around him was just buzzing and his eyes were trained on the bloody body. Soon, a mass of black crouched over the body and Kokichi's eyes finally were drawn away from the corpse for a little bit. He noticed Shuichi's eyes focused on the body and he could tell morbid excitement were all he felt because that's how he always was when a body was discovered on his computer.

Kokichi wanted to vomit, but he wanted to show the viewers and everyone else he isn't a little bitch and walked over to Shuichi to help with investigating.

"It seems to be blunt force trauma that killed him," Shuichi muttered, fully noticing that Kokichi was with him. Kokichi only nodded slightly, unsure of what to do. He looked at the monofile, wanting to get a better understanding of the murder.

"So the estimated time of death was around 9:10..." Kokichi murmured, not sure if Shuichi looked at the file (but knowing him he probably has), "And the injury caused immediate death so... No other injuries could be found."

Shuichi hummed to himself and didn't say much else. The conversation ended pretty quickly and Kokichi shut his mouth, unsure of what to say. He looked over at Kaede and saw her ready to burst in tears. He remembered her saying something faintly, but can't remember exactly what though... He stared at her a little bit longer and then headed off to investigate.

* * *

 

"That's why you, Kaede, are the blackened," Shuichi muttered, but loud enough for everyone to hear decently. He smiled deviously, "Am I correct, or no? Do rebuttle if I'm seriously in the wrong."

Kaede was sobbing at this point. She had tried many times to say she wasn't the one to do it- to murder Rantaro. But everyone took it with a grain of salt. Monokuma laughed at her weeping figure.

"No matter how much you try, Akamatsu- you won't convince people that you didn't murder someone!" Monokuma cackled. Kaede looked at him with anger, but she knew at this point she couldn't do anything. The only thing she did was bury her hands in her face and sobbed. No one else said much else and just stared at the girl with mixed emotions- pity, anger, disgust, and many more in-between. Kokichi felt something was wrong and had a hunch that the stuff she keeps yelling out is true, that she really didn't murder Rantaro... But the circumstances lined up too perfectly and he couldn't really rebuttle for her because no one would listen to his bullshit.

So he just kept quiet and watched the Ultimate Pianist be hanged to death.

* * *

 

 After the execution of Kaede, everyone seemed to be under a black cloud, which wasn't surprising at all to Shuichi. He decided to take off his hat, trying to make it seem he "respected" Kaede's wishes. Not that he gave a shit about her, anyway. Kaede before the game was a complete asshole so he had no remorse for her, even though she was completely different in-game. During the trial, there was no mistake or doubt that his adrenaline was practically racing. Excitement, glee, anything of the sorts he had locked away by force so his cover isn't entirely blown. So he just stood behind his podium, deciding to take on the mask of an unforgiving, semi-cruel detective. Just to fit in with what the idea everyone sees him as. 

Shuichi placed down another Monokuma figure he found on the way back from the grounds with a smile. What a way to end the day.

.

.

His arm lay over his closed eyes, despite his mind being wide awake. What is he going to do with that toxin... His arm fell and he stared at the dark ceiling. He has multiple ideas for the toxin, and he's itching to use it, to get the idiot out of this game... Hopefully, get himself executed in the process. Yeah, he'll hurt Kokichi, but honestly, he deserved dying for being a disgusting, horrible human being.

And what a way to go. With his mind screaming at him to 

use

that

da _mn_

_bottle_

and take away a man's life that you abhor so fu _cking_ much

who wouldn't hate him as much as he did himself?

Shuichi only sighed a little bit, unable to find the energy to release a full exhale. He might've already been thinking of a perfect execution for a detective, yes, but he didn't want to stick on one idea. What if...

* * *

 

"Okay here's my plan guys," Kaito said at the table while everyone, excluding Shuichi and Kokichi, surrounded it, "So I hate to admit it, but, can you all agree Shuichi seems like a potential threat?" Most to all nodded.

Everyone was gathered at Kirumi's newly opened research lab since Kaito didn't want to risk getting his planed ruined by one of them walking in. Kaito smiled sadly.

"Alright, so-" he stood up, "-My plan is to find Shuichi and try to keep him locked somewhere, or something, because if we let him roam around like he is now... There could be a second murder, and we don't want another..."

Kaito didn't finish his sentence. Everyone glanced at one another, wondering if anyone would say anything, whether it be agreement or disagreement.

"I don't think that'll solve the problem, Kaito..." Maki muttered. Kirumi nodded.

"Yeah, I think I agree with her statement. I think locking him somewhere would risk in injury to you if going by your story proves correct. It could also anger him and we don't exactly know what he can do or what he'll do. Because when you were simply talking to him and aggravated him caused a punch in the face, who knows what he'll do when you try to imprison him in this... prison."

Kaito thought about this, but you can't just let someone just walk around like that. What else can you do in this situation?

"Well, what else do you guys suggest we do about him?" He finally said. Nobody responded. Kaito crossed his arms and waited for one of them to tell him no again. They didn't.

"I guess that's what we're gonna do with him, I suppose."

* * *

 

Shuichi was looking around the library for a book since it's pretty boring around here. Kokichi sat on a small sofa near the entrance, already engrossed in some fantasy book. Shuichi smiled and decided he'll take a break from detective books and look for some other genres.

His index finger brushed against the spines of multiple books and he tried to find some books to get into (an occult fiction book caught his eye. A book about teenage girls trying to exorcise another girl, but it's pretty much like torture? Sign me up).

He decided to settle on a book about ancient torture methods, not surprised one bit that there's a book about that in this game. Shuichi plopped down beside Kokichi, startling him quite a bit. Once they got in a comfortable position, the library was undisturbed once again other than the turning of pages. 

It was... nice.

Kokichi was pretty much absorbed in the book, eyes never leaving the pages. He liked to read from time to time, fantasy might not be his go-to but god  _damn_ was this book really good. He turned to chapter 4 already, really loving how the protagonist acts tough in stressful and painful situations. What a man.

He then felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, making him jump first of all, and he looked up to see it was Shuichi- of course, why couldn't he put two and two together-

Though it was... different. Kokichi smiled and relaxed with Shuichi's arm around his shoulder and continued to read this fantasy novel in his hands.

The two stayed like this for a while, just reading and enjoying their comfortable silence. Though Shuichi absolutely adored Danganronpa and almost everything about it, having to deal with a moron and part of him screaming at him to use that poison, to do what he's wanted to do practically his whole life, is stressful. To take time and do nothing but read was like the eye of the storm.

After about an hour and a half, the two called it a day, both taking their books to their dorm just for personal enjoyment.

"That was nice," Kokichi said with a smile, "Just taking time out of the day to read was relaxing in a way."

"I mean anytime I'm with you is relaxing soo,"

"Oh my god, you're going to kill me with all of this flattery, Shuichi-"

Shuichi snickered and messed up the top of his head.

"That could probably be one of the most non-violent ways I could kill someone if I'm being honest."

Kokichi smiled at the comment and gave Shuichi a hug, catching him off guard. Kokichi wrapped his arms around his mid-torso and planned to hold him there. Shuichi had his arms raised a little bit, completely surprised by the sudden action. Finally realizing "oh- oH he's hUGGING mE", Shuichi wrapped his arms around the shorter man, not giving a shit if anyone saw. If they did he'd throw up the bird and call it a day because damn if anyone tries to ruin this image.

Kokichi let go and ran back to his dorm, and Shuichi could get a quick glance of a red face, most likely from embarrassment. How cute.

Just as he was about to close his door, he saw him approaching him again.

'How many times is this going to be repeated I swear' Shuichi thought to himself in an angry tone.

Though, Kaito's face was a mixture of determination and regret. What could this be about...?

"Shuichi I just want to apologize in advance, even if you are dangerous-" he said and then

**_Wham!_ **

__A fist came into contact with Shuichi's face, immediately landing him into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I have an angsty idea for this book and I'm excited to write it just you wait 😤  
> Also, lowkey Kaito has the same relative idea as tweedle dee and tweedle dum in SDR2 to reduce the risk of Shuichi hurting everyone lmao
> 
> Love that man
> 
> i just realized that botulinum type a is a liquid a a a i'm fuckin duMB  
> let's just say shuichi got both pill form (which honestly prolly doesn't exist) and liquid form
> 
> Also my discord is still available y'all - Brûler la fleur#0693
> 
> That occult fiction book is an actual book and I love it? It's called 'The Merciless' btw
> 
> I also can't wait to write Shuichi finally using the toxin a a a  
> of course he's gonna use it for torture who do you think i am, a nice person?


	8. Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was about to title this chapter "if ur depressed and u know it clap ur hands *clap clap*" but i decided against it
> 
> bby boi kokichi has a lil mental breakdown :( poor boi. but y'know what? gonta is an actual blessing to the world and comforts the lil bby bless- we don't deserve gonta, but we got him anyways
> 
> fun fact of the day when kokichi is having a mental breakdown and venting to someone he swears a loot more.
> 
> yeah we love cliche bully! kaito but y'all can hush. lemmie write pre-game kaito as an asshole okay

The morning announcement played as Kokichi turned to the last page of the thirteenth chapter of the fantasy novel. He whipped his head to the monitor in surprise as he nearly dropped the book from his hands. 

He hesitantly put a bookmark in-between the pages, placed it down, and decided it was the appropriate time to head over to Shuichi's dorm room so they can head over to breakfast. He then briskly walked to Shuichi's room, closing his own door in the process. With a brighter attitude and smile, Kokichi knocked on the other's door without the usual emotions swirling in his head.

He didn't answer.

Worry began to bubble in his chest, but he hastily tried to smother the feeling. Maybe he's just extremely tired..? And he didn't open the door at first because he's not awake-

Kokichi knocked a second time.

He was met with the same response. A nervous smile stretched across his face as he pounded on the door to Shuichi's room.

"A-ah Shuiichi? Are... are you up??" Kokichi's voice wavered as he asked. He bit his lower lip as his knock wasn't answered. His heart staggered beats and he stared desperately at the door, hoping,  _praying_ that it's just some cruel joke Shuichi decided to play on him.

But Shuichi never answered. No matter how many times Kokichi prayed to the non-existent God up there, Shuichi never answered. Tears threatened to pool in his eyes, but after furiously wiping them away as best as he could, Kokichi walked to the cafeteria. Alone.

There's no way Shuichi's dead, right? He's too strong to die in this fucked up, disgusting game that he wished he never signed up for. He didn't even like Danganronpa in the first place.

Tears were streaming down his face, but he didn't care anymore. Shuichi was  _his_ friend, the only person he knew and felt safe with. God damnit the only person he ever felt love from. But then the idiot decided to sign up for this fucking game and what happens? He goes missing. He probably died, too, knowing how shit like this goes down.

He didn't know how long had passed, but soon enough Kokichi met the doors to the cafeteria. He was about to open the door when he heard heavy footsteps to his right-

"Kokichi? Gonta not think you come without Shuichi,"

Kokichi quickly looked over to see the 6 foot 6 giant also making his way to the cafeteria. He then  _really_ noticed how large he was and stepped back in fright, shrinking down a little. Gonta noticed this behavior immediately and stopped in his tracks.

"Why Kokichi afraid of Gonta? Gonta has known Kokichi for almost 2 weeks-"

Kokichi forced himself to calm down, slowly realizing and remembering he's not in his life outside the game. He forced a small, awkward smile on his face. He seriously needs to stop freaking out around every little thing and every person.

"A-ah sorry Gonta, I didn't mean to do that..." His poor attempt of an excuse died in his lips. Even though it was horrible, Gonta still smiled at him and looked like he accepted it.

"Gonta forgives Kokichi because Gonta  _did_ go cafeteria suddenly and Kokichi looked not focused."

Kokichi's smile widened a little bit. At least one person who terrified him pre-game was gentle and forgiving in-game. He'll definitely take a liking to the Entomologist.

"Gonta want give Kokichi hug. Is Kokichi okay with hug?"

Kokichi nodded to the friendly giant and felt Gonta's arms wrap around his small frame. Gonta's large hand patted the top of Kokichi's head.

"Kokichi looked sad so Gonta wanted to help," Gonta said out of the blue, "Gonta not like seeing Kokichi sad. Gonta not like seeing anyone sad."

Kokichi only smiled at the comment and pulled out of the hug. It's nice for something soft to calm him down after finding Shuichi not responding to his knocks.

"If Kokichi thinks it's fine, may Gonta ask why Kokichi sad?"

"Well..." Kokichi bit his lip but decided it won't hurt to tell Gonta this info, "Every morning I go to Shuichi's room so we can walk to the cafeteria together. This morning I went to his room, but he never answered. It was weird at first... Though after the third knock his door never opened."

"Gonta is confused. Shuichi could have went to cafeteria before Kokichi-"

"That's the thing, though. Shuichi  _never_ leaves to the cafeteria without going with me. I'm worried that something... Happened to him. A-after Kaede's execution, I'm worried someone fucking murdered him, Gonta."

Kokichi began to tear up again. He put his hand to his forehead, messing up his hair a little bit in the process.

"I hate this god damn killing game because something could've happened to Shuichi. He's the only person I trust in this fucking game and I can't bear thinking something happened to him."

"Shh... Kokichi will be okay." Gonta patted Kokichi's back in an attempt to calm him down.

"Let's... Let's just go get something to eat," Kokichi murmured, trying to stray away from the topic, "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

He opened the door to the cafeteria, not really ready to face the fact that-

Shuichi's seat was bare. Kokichi forced on a fake smile (that honestly probably looked strained) and took a seat next to Kiibo. Everyone was already chatting with each other and Kokichi could count that everyone was there with an obvious exception. He prodded at his food, not really in the mood to eat. Everyone didn't really take notice, though, and just kept with their meal. Though Kirumi tried to get him to eat something off his plate, Kokichi just responded with, "I'm not hungry."

* * *

 

The rest of the day passed by at a snail's pace. For the most part, Kokichi spent all of it in his room and tried to read the fantasy book. He couldn't focus on it. Only making through a couple of pages, he put a bookmark in the novel and placed it down. His mind was all over the place and he couldn't focus on anything. Throughout the day he's knocked on Shuichi's door, just to see if he's locked himself in his room

~~and out of habit.~~

Kokichi decided to simply sit on the, probably fake, grass out in the courtyard. His eyes travel to the projection of a sky on the metal dome. His mind wonders to before the game when Shuichi was actually there - -

.

.

.

_"Get away from him you disgusting waste of space," Shuichi hissed at the man hovering over Kokichi. The man looked up at him and smiled._

_"Or what? You're gonna beat me up? P-lease. You're a fucking twink that thinks he can order me around?"_

_A firm hand wrapped around the man's throat as he pushed him to the wall. Icy eyes bore into the other man's skull._

_"I will say this only once and you better listen-" the man tried to suck in a breath of air, but Shuichi cut off that privilege by tightening his grip, "-Lay a hand on him ever again and I will slice open your fucking stomach then rip out your large intestine and suffocate you by shoving it back down your throat."_

_The man's face was turning blue. With what little nails he has, Shuichi dug them into his already bruising throat._

_"Do you understand that, Kaito?"_

_Kaito struggled to respond, so he opted to try and nod his head._

_Shuichi let go and saw him scamper off, clutching his throat. His murderous face morphed to concerned in seconds as he turned to Kokichi._

_"Hey- hey are you alright? Do you need to go to the nurse?"_

_Kokichi was about to respond as Shuichi cut him off._

_"-And don't say yes if you're seriously hurt. Answer to me with how your body's feeling, not how_ you _feel."_

_Kokichi hesitated for a second, but meekly said, "I.. I think I need to the nurse... I'm nauseated and my stomach is killing me..."_

_Shuichi nodded and picked him up to get him to the nurse quicker and easier..._

_The rest was a blu_ r for Kokichi since he was fading from consciousness and unconsciousness as Shuichi was carrying him. But in the end, he was told he had minor internal bleeding with bruising from where he was struck and hit. So when he heard boisterous laughter heading towards the dormitory, his heart nearly burst out of his chest. He glanced over to see Kaito walking along with Maki who didn't seem too pleased to be with him.

 _'Honestly, I wouldn't want to either...'_ Kokichi thought to himself bitterly. He curled his legs closer to his chest as he watched them walk into the dormitory..

* * *

 

Kaito closed the door to his dorm, an anxious breath escaping his lips. He really hated having to hide Shuichi in his room, but he really had no choice. He opened the closet with his spare clothes, unsure of where to keep him to where no one sees him, to not find Shuichi entangled in rope from the previous time he checked on him. This set him off in a panic, now knowing that Shuichi's missing and pretty much no one knows where he is.

He heard shuffling behind him, so he whipped around to see Shuichi leaning in the bathroom doorway with an amused look on his face.

"You really suck with trying to kidnap someone. Sure you got me tired up but you should reaally make sure I can't get out of the closet in the first place... Such inexperience, huh?"

Shuichi looked at his fingernails with a bored look on his face.

"Are you implying that  _you've_ kidnapped someone before?" Kaito asked, trying to keep his tone even. Shuichi glanced at him, expression never wavering.

"Maybe, maybe not? I'm just saying you could've had more common sense when trapping me in here," A lazy smile appeared on his lips, "So what are you gonna do with me now? Tie me up again? That obviously didn't work the first time."

Kaito grit his teeth in slight annoyance.

"Did you leave the dorm at any time? Like to get food or anything?"

"Who knows? Maybe I did? Or did I actually stay in this room and mess with something?" A long, dramatic sigh escaped Shuichi's lips, "Only Monokuma knowwwws."

A cloth was placed on top of Kaito's nose and mouth, forcing him to breathe in the chloroform doused on it. Kaito struggled against the cloth, but Shuichi forced him to the ground, pinning any limb he could to the ground. Kaito could see a stern and deadly look in Shuichi's eyes.

Just as Kaito was about to pass out from the chemical, Shuichi muttered in his ear-

_"The answer is yes, I left your dorm while you were gone."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all i'm making another oumasai story and u can't stop me  
> it's gonna be where junko causes the v3 children to become remnants of despairs but it's gonna be oumasai/junko-centric
> 
> it's gonna be wild folks (like just wait for rod! shuichi he's,,, he's smthn,,, i mean kokichi is wild too but,,, shuichi's fuckin i n s a n e)
> 
> let's be honest kaito would be a complete dumbass when it comes to kidnapping and would forget something.  
> that something in this instance would be actually locking?? the place?? he kept shuichi? lmao what a total l o s e r.


	9. NOVOCAINE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone catches the reference from Creep-P and GHOST i will love u forever
> 
> Kokichi's happy for once  
> For like a short while
> 
> Don't expect it to last folks because the use of the title of this story and a death shall be soon
> 
> It might be this chapter or next chapter, who knows  
> edit: jk it's in this chapter so p r e p a r e
> 
> then a class trial (most likely won't write it because im too lazy :/), execution, and maybe a short lil thing that happens afterwords  
> and then it's the end of this fic :(  
> disclaimer: y'all i'm not even jokin on this, it's gonna be a ffffucking t i me. warning for teeth, burns, poisoning, and cuts.
> 
> i may or may not do the idea i suggested in chapter 5 where i put this book into a series and do this same idea, but in different chapters and either in one person or in both again. it just depends if y'all want it or not pff
> 
> !ALSO PPPPLEASE READ THE END NOTES FOR COOL STUFF!

When Kokichi heard a knock on his door at 3 in the morning, you can bet he was surprised (and a little scared if he's being completely honest). He tip-toed to the door and opened it cautiously. Tall... Dark attire... Short, dark hair... Golden eyes- Sh...uichi?

He had to blink a couple of times to make sure he was correct with his statement. Fully opening the door, he just stood there. Kokichi stared at Shuichi in confusion, and then snapped out of his haze when Shuichi quickly forced himself in the room. He closed the door and sighed.

And then Kokichi just started _crying_  because the person he  _needed_ was alive and  _safe_. He wrapped his arms around Shuichi, wanting to make sure that he's truly here. He buried his head into the taller man's chest and just sobbed out of pure relief. Shuichi then patted his head, not surprised by this reaction.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here," Shuichi said softly, "I know you're extremely happy to see me, but can I sit down for a second? I just did something that _really_ took the energy out of me."

Kokichi only muttered, "Y-yeah," and let go of him, wiping his eyes when he lost contact of him. Shuichi plopped down on the bed, an exhausted sigh leaving his mouth. Kokichi never realized how  _tired_ he looked until now. Bags were now obvious under his eyes, his skin was paler than usual-

Kokichi sat down gently beside him, just wanting to be near his presence. He missed and  _worried_ about him so  _much_ -

He slowly inched his hand to Shuichi's... finally building up enough courage to do it. Gingerly placing his hand on top of the other's, Kokichi's heartbeat rapidly increased.  _God, what is he doing-_

Shuichi glanced at Kokichi and only smiled, never once swatting away the hand. Kokichi decided to be a little bolder and... held hands with him. _He wanted to throw up because of how nervous he's becoming-_

And Shuichi returned the gesture and held Kokichi's hand as well. Kokichi's face was burning at the reciprocation but didn't want it to end, either. He felt a slight tug from his hand, so he looked down at Shuichi and noticed he wanted him to lay down beside him. Kokichi happily laid down and stared at the ceiling.

Silence.

Kokichi drummed his fingers against his pants, already incredibly sweaty. Questions wracked his mind, bouncing around in his brain at rapid speeds. Did he do something wrong or-

"You do understand that I care for you, right?"

Shuichi suddenly broke the silence.

Kokichi swallowed the lump in his throat, barely getting out a simple, "Y-yes..."

Shuichi crossed his left leg over his right, a low hum buzzed in his throat. He pulled his hand away and scratched his cheek, deep in thought.

Kokichi bit his lip, stomach nauseated with worry.

The silence stretched on for what seemed like an eternity.

And then Shuichi sat up. He still looked exhausted.

"Well, it's extremely late, aha..." Shuichi muttered, fully standing up now, "I'mma head out now, night."

Kokichi was slightly alarmed at his sudden departure.

"N-night!" He half yelled, half whispered. And just as Shuichi left the door, Kokichi muttered, "Love you..."

* * *

 

The blinding screen of the monitor and the disgustingly sweet voice of the Monokubs was what woke him up the next morning. Kokichi groaned and covered his head with a pillow, not in the mood to wake up to the announcement. Once the bears stopped talking, he laid in the bed for a while longer. He soon threw the pillow from the bed, not in the best of moods since he was woken up at three in the  _morning_ (even if Shuichi was the one to wake him).

After moments of silence pass, Kokichi groaned again, forcing himself back up. He  _definitely_ did not want to get up and instead opt to sleep his whole way through this killing game. Everyone here can fuck off.

He decided to at least make himself presentable- even though he could care less.

Kokichi then headed to Shuichi's door, knocked on it, but never received an answer. Flashbacks from the day prior almost sent him into a panic, until memories from earlier smacked him in the face. Kokichi sighed and headed to the cafeteria alone for the second time that week.

.

This was odd.

Neither Kaito or Shuichi were with them at breakfast. Kaito usually is the first one here while Shuichi walked with him.

Kokichi bit his lip as he sat down nervously at an empty seat. Kirumi laid food on the table, plates already in front of everyone that was present. He took a little bit of food, nervousness tingling in his nauseous stomach. He forced those negative thoughts into the back of his mind, forcefully telling himself that Shuichi was still alive and well.

And so, Kokichi ate his food with as much enjoyment he can muster in a situation like this, ignoring everyone else's nervous glances at Kaito's absence.

* * *

The first thing he felt was stabbing pain in his legs and back area. He tried to move from where he was at but found that he was strapped to a chair with  _spikes_ embedded in the backrest and the seat.

He finally noticed the table in front of him littered with a syringe, plier, lighter, and a scalpel. He then felt a body press against the backrest; a head popped in from above the chair and a face obscured his view from the table, but not the pain in his back and under thighs. 

"Good morning, Kaito," a soft voice murmured as his hands held the man in the chair's wrists in place, "I hope you're doing well."

Kaito winced in pain but stared at the golden eyes in confusion.

"W-what the hell are you doing, S-Shuichi...?"

The head tilted to the side a little.

"What does it look like?"

Shuichi's head lifted back up so Kaito can get the view of the table of dangerous items back. Shuichi picked up the syringe as a small, innocent smile formed on his lips. Though once he looked at Kaito again, no form of kindness or warmth brewed in them, only deadly, pent-up anger. He swiftly made his way back over to the chair and just played with the syringe in between his fingers. 

A lazy sigh escaped Shuichi's lips.

"The funny thing is is that you don't understand why you're about to be killed." Shuichi snickered as he forced the syringe with liquid into Kaito's mouth and neck area. Tossing the medical device away beside him, he decided to grab the pliers and simply wait for the effects of the toxin to set in.

"What the fff-uck did you inject m-me with?" Kaito asked, quickly having difficulties with speaking. Shuichi pulled up a chair and sat down. He placed the pliers in his lap and that innocent smile found its way back.

"Botulinum toxin type A, or more commonly known as Botox," Shuichi answered nonchalantly, "One of the more safer types of toxins."

He crossed his left leg over his right, muttering, "I wish I had type H though... I would've loved to see what would've happened..."

Kaito tried to angrily respond but found he couldn't move his entire lower jaw. He desperately tried to move it, but it seemed to be completely paralyzed. Shuichi grinned at this.

"Good, it seems to have settled in."

He picked up the pliers, forced Kaito's jaw open, and just  _smiled_. He looked at the man in the chair.

_"Something is wrong and it’s all your fault,"_

And then Shuichi grabbed one of the front teeth and

**yanked it from his mouth**

pulling the tooth and blood with it.

A loud choke came from Kaito's throat.

Shuichi's smile turned chestier as he grabbed another tooth and  _yanked it from the gum,_

He did this again

and again

and again and again and  **again and again.**

Teeth and blood littered Kaito's lap as teeth were forcefully ripped from their roots in the gums. Pink blood and saliva drooled from his mouth, ugly tears falling from his eyes.

But Shuichi didn't care. He could care less about Kaito because of all the awful shit he did to Kokichi.

He just kept pulling and pulling and pullingan **dpulling**

Until a pile of teeth, blood, and saliva collected onto Kaito's lap. A rhythmic throbbing of pain was all that Kaito felt. His entire face felt like it was on fire.

Shuichi put a hand to Kaito's face, face full of faked concern.

"Does it hurt?" He pulled away and shrugged, "Oh well."

He went for the lighter next, pulling down the trigger and lighting a flame.

"Now we're gonna have some  _real_ fun."

He whipped around, placing the flame close to Kaito's eye. His eyes squinted in irritation and pain due to the proximity of the flame.

"Eyes or mouth, which one shall I do?" Shuichi murmured as he waved the lighter back and forth.

He then stuck the lighter with an open flame

in

to

Kaito's

_mouth._

"Well, why not both!"

Now Kaito can say his face felt like it was on fire. He clearly saw why Shuichi paralyzed his face-

~~He can feel multiple blisters form in his mouth as Shuichi indirectly cauterizes the wounds.~~

But all Shuichi showed on his face was boredom. He pulled the unlit lighter out of Kaito's mouth, sighing. Shuichi put the lighter close to Kaito's eye again, savoring in the fear his eyes revealed to him.

"Say goodbye to your eyesight, bitch."

The lighter sprung to life again, the flames catching Kaito's eyeball. Then the lighter moved and caught the second one.

Shuichi went back and forth between the two, gradually  _blinding_ the man.

After successfully burning Kaito's retina's, Shuichi lazily dropped the lighter, not caring if it burned Kaito even further.

"Time to "end" your misery, I suppose," Shuichi sighed dramatically as he grabbed the scalpel.

He put the scalpel close to Kaito's eye and muttered, "You've heard death by a 1000 cuts, correct?"

No response.

Shuichi cut into the skin anyways.

He sliced Kaito's arms, legs, face, neck,  _everywhere_. He didn't forget deeper cuts for faster results, either.

Soon, the cuts became erratic. Multiple overlapped as more slices became prominent.

After Shuichi finished up (physically unable to cut him up anymore), Shuichi dropped the scalpel and just stared at Kaito, the realization of what he's done finally setting in.

_'There's no way he'll survive an hour'_

And so, Shuichi cleaned up, making it look like he was never there- only leaving the slowly dying body. He opened the door and glanced back at the soon-to-be corpse, his mind justifying his actions. A tight-lipped smile formed as he turned the light off but never closed the door.

.

.

..

....

.....

_*Ding dong dong ding*_

 

**"A body has been discovered!"**

Kokichi nearly tripped over his own feet as he was heading over to Shuichi's room once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shuichi: hahah wasn't that lit kaito  
> kaito: *fucking dead. as he should be*  
> shuichi: hahahahahaha im gonna fucking d i e
> 
> ..............tooth hurty
> 
> i know botox/botulinum takes days to paralyze the muscle but this is a fic and i can do what i want lmao
> 
> dude this is only a lil longer than usual because of the mM mM scene
> 
> heyy i mentioned this on my "bury a friend" fic but i have a redbubble ! if you want me to make anything "Botulinum" related (stickers, posters, etc), just say so! i don't mind to make them since it is my au- it's just figuring out what to draw since they're not wearing anything different unlike rod oumasai lmao--
> 
> u guys can send me shit post texts of what u think these children would say so it's more fun lmao-  
> i might draw shuichi bending over the chair kaito's sitting on as he stares straight into his eyes tho-


	10. 𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒, 𝒹𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓁𝒶𝒽

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im back  
> back again
> 
> and y'all know what it is huh huh huh huh huh??  
> it's the end of Botulinum :(
> 
> u better listen to hey there delilah while you read this or i'll come to ur house and beat u up  
> here have a link to it so u don't have an excuse 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_m-BjrxmgI

Everyone stood near the door of the room that holds a dead man inside. Kokichi peeked inside the room, his gut twisting and clenching at the horrific sight before him. There sat a very dead Kaito, littered with an inhuman amount of cuts on his skin. If he looked closer, he could see teeth laying in the man's lap and blood stained on his skin by his mouth. The sight made Kokichi want to hurl.

His head slowly scanned the survivors of the recent murder and paid a close eye on Shuichi, pretty sure he's the one who did it. That thought made him nearly actually vomit.

Then he noticed everyone had already walked in the room. The death-drenched room. Kokichi shakily stepped inside. Monokuma cackled as he handed out the Monopads. Kokichi finally received a pad and hesitantly swiped down the screen to see where all of his injuries were. Kaito's full body picture pulled up and he noticed cuts littered on his arms, a large pink dot over his mouth, eyes, and right jaw.

_"The victim is Kaito Momota. The victim's body was discovered in an unknown room. The estimated time of death was 11:21 pm. The victim was subjected to a multitude of cuts on his body, tooth extraction, interior mouth burns, eye burns, and botulinum poisoning resulting in a slow death. No other injuries were detected."_

Kokichi read all the injuries that were put onto Kaito's body and looked at the corpse in front of him in horror. Sure, he hated him before the game, but he didn't deserve something like _this_. Of course, Shuichi was investigating Kaito's body like a hawk.

Kokichi walked toward the corpse, not intending to talk to Shuichi at all throughout this. His gut was telling him that Shuichi was the one to do it, but... but he didn't want to believe it...

And just like that, the audio for everyone to meet at the statue blared in his ears. Kokichi looked at the monitor with no expression as Monokuma rambled on about how excited he is for this trial and how the blackened will be discovered.

Kokichi stole a glance at Shuichi before he left.

Shuichi's face was unusually blank, today.

* * *

 

"You're the one who killed Kaito, Shuichi," Kokichi murmured, heart pounding once all of his evidence lined up with his statement, "You fucking killed Kaito like the god damn idiot you are, didn't you??"

Shuichi didn't respond to Kokichi's claim. The trial room was deathly silent. Kokichi's heart pounded harder as he found back tears.

"Answer me, you asshole! Tell me you're the one who murdered Kaito!"

Shuichi's eyes locked with Kokichi's, but not one word uttered out of his mouth. A choked sob burst out of Kokichi's mouth, and he pounded on his podium with his palm. "Answer me! Answer  _ME_!"

.

..

..

A small, pitying smile formed on Shuichi's lips. Tears pricked his own eyes as he looked at one of the closest people he ever could get to. The only person he could feel love about. The only person he truly cared about.

"Yeah," Shuichi finally answered with a crack in his voice, "Yeah, you're correct. I killed Kaito. I burned his eyes. I ripped out his teeth. I burned his mouth. I cut him up. Yeah, I did that."

Tears freely flowed down Kokichi's cheeks as he gripped the podium in front of him. His eyebrows narrowed as he simply glared at the man he loved. He hiccuped.

"You god damn idiot. You fucking  _idiot,_ " Kokichi cursed, hurt filling his voice, "I told you not to kill anyone! You knew you were gonna get caught, especially since you went for the most  _obvious fucking person!_ "

He simply buried his face into his hands, full-out sobbing at this point. No one wanted to say anything. Kokichi's body just shook with sobs and utter despair. His body slowly fell to the ground, too heavy to stand up. Shuichi said nothing.

"Jeez, can we get a move on? I love all of this delicious despair and all, but I'm just ready for the execution! Blood, guts, gore, glam! Now hurry up and vote  _already!"_

The voting screen popped up, Monokuma not caring if everyone was ready or not. Kokichi looked up and saw the voting screen. He didn't to get up- all of his energy was simply sucked out of him. But he also doesn't want to get punished simply because his body was too lazy to pick its sorry ass up from the ground.

And so, Kokichi picked himself up, looked at Shuichi who had already voted, and pressed his finger down on the blacken's face.

The wheel of everyone's pixelated faces spun around rapidly but then slowed down.

tick

  tick

tick

  tick...

"You are correct! Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective, was the killer of Kaito Momota!"

Kokichi stared at the wheel, too tired to give a proper response to it. And then his eyes stared at Shuichi, betrayal etched in his face. Shuichi's face paled, but nothing else came from him.

"You aren't going to say anything, Shuichi," Kokichi asked with a flat tone.

No response. A chain clamped on Shuichi's neck a second after.

Shuichi kept his eyes locked on Kokichi as he was ripped from his spot at the podium.

* * *

 

**_Hey there, Delilah  
Don't you worry about the distance..._ **

Shuichi struggled to breathe as his neck was compressed by the collar. Tears freely streamed down his eyes as he flew higher, and higher, and  _higher._

 **_I'm right there if you get lonely_ **  
**_Give this song another listen_ **  
**_Close your eyes..._ **

Kokichi screamed as he saw Shuichi get flung into the air. He began to run towards the flying body, but someone grabbed his arm.

_'Get the fuck off me. get the fuck off me. get the fuck off mE-'_

**_Listen to my voice, it's my disguise  
I'm by your side._ **

The chain finally stopped. It hung Shuichi's dangling body on top of an open glass bottle. Shuichi struggled to breath.

 **_Hey there, Delilah_ **  
**_I know times are gettin' hard_ **  
**_But just believe me, girl_ **  
**_Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar_ **  
**_We'll have it good._ **

"Kokichi-  _Kokichi!_ " A voice screamed in his ears. He could tell it was Kiibo. Kokichi hissed and yanked his arm from his grip and began running towards the execution area, vision obscured with tears that he couldn't see the vile of... something making it's way to the large, glass bottle.

 _**A thousand miles seems pretty far** _  
_**But they've got planes and trains and cars** _  
_**I'd walk to you if I had no other way** _  
_**Our friends would all make fun of us** _  
_**And we'd just laugh along because we'd know** _  
_**That none of them have felt this way** _

Shuichi gasped as he was dropped into the bottle. The breath was sucked out of him as air molecules rushed passed him and he, especially, was suffocating. He landed on the glass with a loud  _pop!_

There go his legs.

And then, the vile of acid began to pour. And pour. And  _pour._

Causing burns and corrosion on his skin and clothes almost immediately.

 _**Delilah, I can promise you** _  
_**That by the time that we get through** _  
_**The world will never ever be the same** _  
_**And you're to blame.** _

A rouge drop of acid flew from the vile and landed on Kokichi's face. The pain never registered as Kokichi ran to the glass bottle with Shuichi trapped inside. Kokichi pounded on the glass, screaming in desperation for  _something_ to happen.

Nothing did.

 **_Hey there, Delilah_ **  
**_You be good and don't you miss me_ **  
**_Two more years and you'll be done with school_ **  
**_And I'll be makin' history like I do_ **  
**_You know it's all because of you_ **  
**_We can do whatever we want to_ **  
**_Hey there, Delilah here's to you..._ **

The acid was quickly piling up and Shuichi's knees now were covered with the liquid acid. The pain he felt in them before soon dissipated due to the nerve endings simply being eaten away by the acid. A nasty red filled the acidic liquid.

The glass just kept filling, and filling, and filling up with acid, slowly killing Shuichi by eating him alive. Until the only thing that was left from him was his hair stem that protruded from his head.

That soon fizzled away, too.

At the end of the grusume execution, the glass bottle was full of acid and the remnants of Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective.

A despairing scream tore through the execution room as the only person who cared about him fizzled up and died in a bottle of acid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all i'm so sorry this ending was so heckin short- at this point, i had no ideas since ya man wasn't gonna write the whole ass trial?? and i'm excited to see y'all's feedback and interest in seeing me continue this idea but in different scenarios.
> 
> Also, I don't mind if any of you do anything with these children (draw, write-)! even tho i know no one's gonna do it, if you were curious there's ur answer.
> 
> so, without further ado, i am sad to say goodbye to the main botulinum fic! this story has been a fun ass ride, lemmie tell u. it's shown people that pregame oumasai doesn't have to be a toxic waste field, it's shown me as an author that my writing doesn't suck with all the feedback i've gotten, and it's just fun to actually finish a fanfiction. i've started stories many times, but i've never finished them due to motivation or lack of interest anymore. but thanks to all of y'all reading, this fic never came to that! so i just want to thank each and every one of you who decided to give this fic a chance! y'all mean the world to me. i hope to see you guys over at bury a friend and maybe a new fic planned?? im unsure about that last statement since im unsure what i want to write about, but i do know i want to start a new oumasai fic soon!
> 
> but seriously, y'all i want to thank the hell outta you guys. drink some water, go outside, and take care of urselves. y'all matter and i care for every one of y'all just as much as y'all enjoyed this fic.


End file.
